The Camaraderie Support
by WeBuiltThePyramids
Summary: A friendship fic. Ideas inspired by "The Peanut Reaction" and "The Gorilla Experiment." Penny wants help doing something for Leonard, so she enlists their best friend. My attempt at some Sheldon/Penny banter...though all five will be around.
1. Chapter 1

**So I decided to write a friendship fic for Sheldon and Penny, since I have always pushed the couple of Leonard and Penny so hard. I still am a hardcore Lenny, but I do not want my Sheldon-must-never-get-a-girl rants to give off the impression that I think that Sheldon and Penny in the same room together equals disaster. It is hilarious, and I felt obligated to acknowledge my love of that friendship. This is somewhat inspired by "The Gorilla Experiment," since Penny asks for Sheldon's help to do something for Leonard.**

**DISCLAIMER: everything, even the basic idea, belongs to CBS, and I so jealous.**

"Nice motivational speech from our Experimental Physicist!"

Leonard lifted his head from the couch. "Sheldon, that wasn't a motivational speech! It was a rant of frustration. My career isn't going anywhere!"

The Theoretical Physicist didn't even bother to look up from his laptop. "It hasn't been for years, Leonard. Are you just discovering that now? You can't be surprised as to _why_ you are accomplishing nothing, if you're always years behind the rest of us, or, more accurately, _me_."

"Sheldon…" Penny said, shaking her head at him.

"Well, you can't blame me for not dropping dead in shock at his statement," Sheldon said defensively.

"You're not helping," Leonard said, his hand on his forehead. Penny squeezed his arm, but he didn't look at her. "I just feel so useless!"

"You said it, not me," Howard added, glancing at Raj. The Indian smirked and gave his best friend a thumbs up.

"I don't even know why I bother trying to seek comfort from you people," he said, getting up and marching toward his room. "All you do is criticize my work, my life..."

"Leonard, wait," Sheldon said. "Remember when we were discussing Koothrapali's appearance in _People_, and you told me we have to consider that maybe that is all he'd ever achieve?" Raj frowned and held his palms up in questioning. "Well," Sheldon continued, "I am simply trying to keep your career potential, as nonexistent as it may be, in perspective for you. Isn't that, as they say 'what friends are for?'?"

His reasoning was just so Sheldon that Penny gave a quick little laugh, and Raj and Howard looked at each other and shook with silent appreciation for Sheldon's reasoning.

Leonard just glared. "Way to play Normal Human Being, Sheldon," he said, heading down the hall. Entering his room, he flopped down on the bed, landing in an uncomfortable position but not wanting to move. His friends were so goddang unsupportive of him!

"Leonard?"

The voice was quiet but clear, and he rolled over onto his back. "Hey, Penny."

She came over and sat next to him. "Sorry I laughed back there."

He opened his eyes and smiled up at her. "It wasn't you." He sighed. "They always…they _always_ do this. When my mother came, when Barry taunted me…"

"They were just teasing you, Leonard. They're still your friends."

He sighed. "I know. What they don't understand is this isn't simple, one-time frustration. It's pent-up aggravation that's been plaguing me for years. It's like I'll never get anywhere…I'll never accomplish anything, and…that wound goes deeper than they think it does. They don't take my disappointment seriously."

"Aw, sweetie," she said, touching his nose with the tip of her finger.

He sighed. "They just don't understand." He knew he was sounding whiny and self-pitying, but the knife that was his disappointment was nearly impaling him, and all they were doing was grabbing hold of the handle and wiggling it around, making it hurt worse. It meant so much to him to be successful in his work-it was what all his education was for, wasn't it?

Penny bent down and kissed his forehead lightly, and then got up and headed back into the living room to find Sheldon alone. "Where are Raj and Howard?"

"They went to Pottery Barn."

"Without you?"

"I don't trust the two of you in this apartment alone. Howard told me what you were doing in my spot while I was helping keep Raj out of piracy."

"We-Sheldon!" She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, listen to me."

Sheldon looked up. "Is that not what I'm currently doing?"

She just looked at him until he broke her gaze. "My apologies; I believe that that was what you might classify as a 'smart-alec' remark?" She just nodded her head. "Fine," Sheldon said, "what do you want?"

Penny came closer to him. "Personal space, please," he said, backing up.

"I don't want Leonard to hear," she said in a low voice. "Just let me whisper in your ear."

"That is not sanitary. I have noticed that you frequently salivate when you talk, and I don't wish for that secretion to be shot into my ear canal." He looked slightly intimidated when she put her hands on her hips. "Okay, not in the ear, but you may stand closer than I have previously allowed you."

Penny sighed. "Thank you, Sheldon."

"But remember, as was your permission to go in my room, this privilege is temporary."

"I understand." Pausing a moment, she went up and stood next to him, speaking in a whisper. "You have to help me, Sheldon."

He looked up. "Narrow the area of 'help' down." She sighed. "Sorry." He said. "I'll be quiet."

"I want to do something for Leonard, something to show that he's appreciated."

"I was hoping this regarded your organizational skills, I have to confess. All right," Sheldon said. "If you want me to help you tell him that his work is amazing and original…"

"No," she told him. "Not in a work sense. I want him to know that we, as his friends, love him and like having him around."

"Oh, I'm sensing a please-act-happy-but-not-kill-Batman smile coming on," Sheldon said, turning back to his laptop.

"You don't enjoy Leonard's company? You've told him that he helps you fold your sheets, and drives you around…"

"Oh! You mean _that _aspect of Leonard's company!" Sheldon cocked his head, seeming deep in thought. "This certainly changes things." He nodded. "As today's youth would say, 'count me in'!"

Penny smiled. "Thank you, Sheldon."

"Now," he said, "All cleverly contrived plans-and since I'm involved this will be-have a meeting in which the participators discuss how to carry out said plan." He rested his arm on the desk. "When will this occur?"

"I want to plan it extensively out with you before involving Raj and Wolowitz," Penny said. "How about tomorrow?"

Sheldon sighed. "Tomorrow at what time?"

"I don't know…when Leonard goes to get the food?"

"I suppose that'll work, although I may be too hungry to think properly…"

Penny remembered a tactic Leonard had used to convince Sheldon to stay up all night to help her make her flower barrettes. She decided to use a similar strategy here. "But even while hunger-impaired, you will still be ten times the mind I am!"

"Only _ten_ times the mind you are?"

"Oh, so you think it'd be more?" She cocked her head and put her hands on her hips. "Prove it."

Sheldon's face twitched. "Gladly."

**I hope I don't do a horrible job and botch this, and I hope that both Lennys and Shennys can enjoy this story, since it's not going to really ship anyone (I mean, yes, it takes place in season 3 and L/P are together, but that quick kiss is basically as intense as it's going to get, so I hope you S/P shippers can enjoy this as well.) I'm not sure how many chapters this will be, probably 3-5, but I'm not sure yet. Review, please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, now comes the planning-the-party stage. ****I still own nothing, by the way.**

"All right, well, I'll be back," Leonard announced, grabbing a key from the bowl. Penny was sitting on the white chair, doing her nails, and Sheldon was in the desk chair, away from the smell. Neither of them spoke. "Okay…" Leonard frowned, looking confused. "Uh…bye."

"Good-bye," Sheldon said.

"See ya," Penny called, finishing her right pinky and screwing the cap back on the nail polish. She sat up and watched until the door clicked shut. Then she got up and lifted the cushion on the seat, pulling out a purple college-ruled (yes, it was hers!) notebook. "Okay, Moon Pie, let's get this planning started!" She ignored the look of irritation on Sheldon's face.

"This is going to involve secret keeping, Penny, and you know that I am incapable of secrecy."

"Sheldon, sweetie, this is a temporary secret. You can make do for a few days." She opened her notebook. "Anyway, I think we should throw him a party."

"Penny." He turned in the chair. "Are you forgetting what happened the _last_ time we tried that?"

Penny sat on the arm of the chair and put the notebook on the coffee table. "Fine. Do you have a better idea?"

Sheldon was silent. Penny cocked her head, waiting. "I have many better ideas," the former finally said, rising from his desk chair. "But they all entail abandoning the idea altogether or…or are way too complex for someone of your brain capacities."

"So, in the words of normal people," Penny said, "you have no ideas actually involving making Leonard feel loved by his friends."

Sheldon raised his eyebrows. "Not _entirely_ inaccurate." He put his hands behind his back and tapped his foot. "Say we _do_ end up throwing a party-and I'm not agreeing yet-how do you suggest we proceed? Shall we go about this like last time and get a bunch of strangers in the apartment and get them drunk? I feel it necessary to remind you how trashed this place was after _that _attempt at raising Leonard's self-esteem!"

Penny stood. "Fine, then we'll have it in my apartment! And they weren't strangers, they were my friends."

"They were strangers to, as you called him 'The Birthday Boy.' Hmmm…your apartment…" Sheldon considered this. "Drunk people in your apartment…well, they could be as rowdy as they wanted and not make the place look any worse…"

"Sheldon, this isn't going to be _like_ the birthday party, okay? It's just gonna be the five of us. We'll get together, maybe on Wednesday…"

"We can't have it on Wednesday."

"Why the hell not?"

"Wednesday's Halo Night. We can't miss Halo Night. How could you even _suggest _that we-"

"Sheldon!" Penny gave a frustrated sigh. "I know Wednesday's Halo Night, I'm sorry. Okay, so not this Wednesday..."

"Any Wednesday."

"Not _any_ Wednesday. What about the next Anything Can Happen Thursday?"

Sheldon wandered into the kitchen and picked up his Bat Jar, carrying it back to the coffee table. He opened it and took out a Macaroon. "Well, as its name suggests, that day is perfect for the event we are scheduling…"

Penny put her face in her hands. "Ugh…"

"However," Sheldon added, "today is the Saturday after the third Thursday of the month. We have passed this month's Anything Can Happen Thursday."

"Of course we have," she said under her breath.

"I _did_ just say that…" Sheldon raised his eyebrows again.

Penny stood, going over to the calendar on the fridge. "Looks like you guys have nothing going on this Tuesday. I'm off work; how about we do it then?"

"Tuesday is the day you bring me my cheeseburger!"

"I am _not working_ Tuesday!" She snapped.

Sheldon frowned. "You're awfully irritable. Is it your time of the month?"

"Sheldon!" She narrowed her eyes. "If we have the party on a Tuesday that also happens to be a day I'm not working, then your schedule will not be interrupted twice. If we did it a different day, then it would be."

"For once your reasoning isn't entirely flawed," he said. "The idea of my schedule…twice a week…" His body shuddered. "Oh, fine!"

"Thank you," Penny said. "So: my apartment, next Tuesday."

Sheldon sighed. "I suppose." He went over to his laptop.

"Wait," Penny said, jumping up. "We're not done. We need to figure out just how we're going to ensure he feels appreciated."

"I'm confused," he said, turning to face her. "Isn't that the point of…you know…the party itself?"

"Well, yes…but…it's one of those…" What the heck did Wolowitz call it? "Non…optional social conventions. You know, just being nice and appreciative…and we'll need to-"

"Oh, I get it. We're going to show Leonard we appreciate him by being appreciative. And your lack of success in life baffles you?" Sheldon stood in front of the coffee table with his arms folded.

"Are you gonna let me talk?" Penny heard a noise outside of the door. "Never mind! Act normal!" She grabbed the notebook and shoved it under the couch. As the click of the key in the lock reached the ears of the conspirators, they dropped into the seats nearest them. Penny watched the door.

"Penny."

"Shut up!" she snapped.

Leonard entered the apartment, dropping his key in the bowl. "_Penny_," Sheldon whispered. He was squirming.

"Sssssss!" She hissed in warning.

"Hey, guys," Leonard said. He turned to shut the door, and then went into the kitchen for napkins, lugging the bag of food with him.

"Hi, honey," Penny said.

"_Penny!_" Sheldon said in undertone.

"For the love of God, _what_?" She said through her teeth.

"You're in my spot."

"Oh!" Luckily Leonard hadn't looked directly at them yet. Penny vaulted over the coffee table and Sheldon leapt into his spot, almost all in one motion. She took over the occupancy of the white chair as Leonard came over to them.

"Okay," he said. "Raj and Howard can't make it, so I guess it's just the three of us tonight." Penny shot Sheldon a look before he could comment on his roommate's powers of observation.

Sheldon peered into the bag. "Did you remember to ask that the chicken with broccoli be diced, not shredded?"

"Yes."

"Even though the menu description specifies shredded?"

"Brown rice, not white?"

"Yes."

"Did you-"

Penny jumped up. "Good hot mustard, and low-sodium soy sauce, all right here!" She interrupted.

Sheldon was quiet for a moment, and Penny was afraid he'd freak at her interrupting his rant. Strangely, he wasn't. "Thank you."

The trio began eating. "So how was work today?" Leonard asked Penny.

"Oh…eh…" She shrugged. "It was okay. Long day, didn't get much done."

"Sounds _just_ like my day," he said ruefully.

"Same level of accomplishment, both in the lab and the restaurant," Sheldon quipped. Seeing Penny's glare and apparently remembering their earlier discussion, he cleared his throat. "However, I'm sure this is just a…err…bad day for you…buddy."

Good thing Leonard wasn't looking up, Penny thought. Sheldon's lips were jerking and his arms were shaking with the effort of being casual and supportive that Leonard would pick up on it in an instant.

"Yeah, a bad day," Leonard said. He poked around his dish, having eaten the few pieces of fish that were there. "They call this a fish meal?" he mumbled. Penny raised her fork with a piece on it, and he leaned over and took the fish. Penny grinned at him.

She glanced back to see how Sheldon was faring with "acting normal." He was fidgeting; was barely able to hold onto his diced chicken with broccoli, he was quivering so badly. She could tell he was about to say something, and since she wasn't sure what that would be, she cocked her head toward the hallway. Taking her cue, he rushed toward his room to compose himself. Leonard watched him go. "What's up with him?" he said, gesturing toward the hallway with his fork.

Penny shrugged. "Wackadoodle."

"You're telling me," he said, laughing.

"That darn Sheldon," she said, laughing along with him. She was glad he was busy eating; her conversation sounded _way_ too casual. Oh well, that was her socially awkward homunculus.

**I'm sure that following this chapter Sheldon entered into his computer: "I am exhausted!"**

**L****emme know what ya think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**SO sorry it took me so long to update-I got really stuck. But here's chapter three, hope it isn't disappointing-the next chapter will probably be the last...then I need to update The Equine Expansion again...*slams head on keyboard* hyhgyugyudduyg-Literally! :D**

**Still own nothing.**

"C'mon, Leonard," Penny said. "You said you wanted to see this movie, and it's the last day for it." She put the ticket on the coffee table. "Go enjoy yourself."

"I do want to see it," he said, "but why are you staying behind?"

"I told you," she said, sitting on the arm of his chair, "I have a splitting headache, and you know as well as I do that they make me into one moody girl." She put her hand on her forehead dramatically. "You want to spend the afternoon with the Incredible Hulk, especially after a loud movie theater?"

"Penny, you're-"

"Just go! You're gonna be late!" She picked up the ticket and grabbed his arm. Dragging him to the door, she planted the ticket in his hand, a kiss on his cheek, and pushed him into the hallway. "Have a great time!"

"Okay," she said to Sheldon, leaning against the closed apartment door. "Let's go."

Sheldon looked up from reading a comic book in his spot. "What about your headache?"

"Sheldon, I do not_ have_ a headache!"

He looked surprised. "You were making that up? Maybe there's hope for you as an actress after all!"

Penny was pleased. "Thank you, Sheldon!"

"That said, of course, I have no respect for actresses and their work, but I suppose your goals are your goals, as insignificant as they may be."

Penny raised an eyebrow. "Looks like I'm going to be the one needing that Appreciation Party."

"There there," Sheldon said. "I would be more concerned about the fact that you and your boy toy have characteristics of a violent sociopath, and assuming that the trait is dominant and you are both heterozygous for it, any progeny the two of you produce has a seventy-five percent chance of acquiring the trait."

"What?"

Sheldon heaved a sigh. "Let's hope your lack of brain power is recessive."

"Recessive?"

"Want me to draw it out?" He picked up a pen. "See, if you have two small letters as the genotype, and Leonard's got to have at least…"

Penny sighed. "Come back, Sheldon! No headache…party planning…do you hear me?"

He looked confused. "Yes. You're standing right there." He dropped his gaze back to the paper. "So there's a slightly better chance of have intelligent children than if your trait is dominant, in which case there is no chance of-"

"I'm going to count to three," Penny said. "One…"

"You sound just like my mother and that girlfriend of Howard's."

"Two…you're not going to make me get to three, are you, Sheldon?"

"I refuse to cave to this juvenile counting method again!"

Sheldon and Penny locked eyes in a stare down. "Two and a half…"

"You can't go up by halves!" He said, getting up.

"If I don't, you'd be counted out by now! Two and three-thirds, I mean quarters…"

"Fine, I'm coming."

Penny gave a triumphant smirk as they headed down the stairs to her car. She hopped into the driver's seat and waited for Sheldon to secure his seatbelt, then pulled out onto the road.

"Why is there a Hello Kitty sticker over your Check Engine light?"

"Damn, you noticed that."

"I was not asking so you could compliment my situational awareness," Sheldon said. "That was not a rhetorical inquiry."

"Fine, Sheldon, it's on there because I don't have the money to fix the stupid thing."

"Oh. Do you need more money?"

"No, Sheldon."

"Penny?"

"What, Sheldon?"

"If I may retreat to a less intense and primitive topic of conversation, have you realistically thought this whole party thing through? The five of us usually assemble in the evenings, and we usually consume a meal during that time. Will simply moving the assemblage across the hall to your swirling vortex of entropy classify it as a party?"

Penny drummed her fingers on the wheel. "You could be right."

"I _could _be-"

"Shut up and let me think." Penny bit her lip, staring out at the road. How _could _it really be a party if it was just the five of them? She spun the car around, crossed two lanes of traffic, and headed back in the other direction, ignoring Sheldon's high pitched scream. "I've got another idea."

"Care to share?"

"I tell you when I tell Raj and Howard about it. But it's sweet and simple."

"Somehow, I highly doubt it."

Penny just shook her head. _Wackadoodle…_it _was _a good question why his current friends liked him!

**

* * *

**

"So Leonard, how was the movie?" She was lying on the couch in her apartment, a hastily fashioned ice pack over her forehead.

"Oh, great! I think you would have liked it." He sat on the edge of the couch. "How's your head?"

She laughed. "That makes me sound like some sort of idiot."

"Sorry. How's your head_ache_?"

"Meh." She sat up. "Good thing I told Sheldon to 'change migraine to yes' at the hospital."

"You went to the hospital?"

"What? No, this was the adhesive duck incident."

"Do not remind me about that night of torture," Sheldon said.

"You weren't the one with a dislocated shoulder." She reminded him.

"Yeah, what was so bad for you?" Leonard asked.

Sheldon looked as if his roommate was missing something quite obvious. "She made me _drive_, Leonard! And I had to go to _court_!"

Penny and Leonard looked at each other. "The _horror…_"

Sheldon shook his head. "Homo Sapiens. So, Penny, when are we telling Howard and Raj about the pa....aaaaa...ancakes!" He had caught her look in time.

"Pancakes?" Leonard looked confused.

"Long story," Penny said.

**Let me know what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, here's the end. I could not figure out how to finish this, and that's why it took so long. I had the end of the chapter written, and I absolutely HATED how it ended…so I went with this…not sure if it's much better, but…it's all I got.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything.**

"Hey guys," Penny said as Raj and Howard entered her apartment. "Do you have the food?"

"It's all right here," Howard said, gesturing to Raj behind him. Penny raised her eyebrows; Raj had nothing in his hands, and he looked at Howard in confusion. "Where's the bag?" Howard asked in annoyance. Raj leaned over and whispered something. "Well," Howard said in frustration, "go and get it!" Raj assumed a look of slight panic and darted out the door.

Under normal circumstances, Penny would have just rolled her eyes, but it was important to her that this go well, so she was afflicted with paranoia. "Oh, God," she moaned, "did you guys forget to bring it?"

"No," Howard assured her. "It's in the car." He looked around. "Where's Sheldon?"

Penny gestured toward the apartment door. "Over there in his big ice thingy. He's practicing his 'casual' expressions."

Howard was one of four people on the planet who didn't find that explanation strange. "Oh, I see."

"Personally, I don't think a few hours of practice will help, but…"

"Ah, don't over think it. He's nuts." Howard and Penny both looked up when Raj re-entered the room carrying a large paper bag. He held up a dirty piece of notebook paper that read "The food's here!"

"Yay!" Penny said with playful enthusiasm as she took the food from Raj.

Sheldon entered the room behind Raj. "Is that the food?"

"Yes." Penny set the bag on her counter and peered inside.

Sheldon followed her. "Black beans, not pinto beans?"

Penny checked the container. "Yep."

"Double guacamole?"

"Yep."

"Lettuce shredded, not chopped?"

"Uh…" Penny lifted the container and tilted it. "Yes."

"Good, because if it didn't, Leonard would grumble about it for the next week. Don't you hate it when someone complains that much?" Sheldon looked horribly confused at the looks exchanged between Penny, Raj, and Howard. "Did I miss something?"

"_Something?_" Penny asked. "As in one thing?"

"No. Something pluralized." Howard said.

"Multiplied by Avogadro's number," Penny added. A second later she blinked in surprise. "Whoa."

"You mean six point oh two times ten to the twenty-third?" Sheldon asked.

"No, the Avogadro in 2A," Penny said sarcastically.

"That's Mrs. Grossinger. She has the Mexican Hairless that…sarcasm?"

Penny nodded. "Yes, Shelly."

"Don't ever call me Shelly!"

"Leonard called you that multiple times while you were having your work problems."

"I was sleep deprived. No time to quibble over terms of address. All energy was focused on the task at hand. In fact…"

"Here we go," the other three said in unison.

Sheldon had begun to babble about the necessities of sleep, but stopped at their words. "Your clichéd phrase regarding my inevitable explanation on the focus of energy is no longer humorous."

"Why don't we take a rain check on that lecture?" Penny said. "Leonard will be here any minute. Is everyone clear on the plan?"

"Yes," Howard said.

"Got it," Sheldon confirmed.

Raj nodded.

"Great." Penny set the five cartons of food on her coffee table.

Just then there was a knock at the door, and then Leonard opened it and came inside. "Hey, Penny." He noticed the others in the room. "Oh. Hey guys."

"Leonard!" Howard said with over exaggerated happiness. "How _are_ you today?"

"Eh…" Leonard shrugged. "Get up, go to work, come home…you know."

"Oh, that's okay," Howard said, slapping Leonard's shoulder lightly. "I'm sure that things will get better. Everyone has off days."

"Yeah, I guess." Leonard gave Howard a small smile. "So. What's for dinner?"

"Well," Sheldon said, going over to the couch and gesturing to the food. "We got you…buddy…your favorite food. As you can see, we have black beans, not pinto beans, double guacamole, and lettuce shredded, not chopped. Just as you like it…buddy." Sheldon turned away slightly so Leonard couldn't see the twitch.

This conversation was making Penny very uncomfortable. Leonard was a beautiful mind…even his somewhat lack of social skills wouldn't prevent him from realizing that his friends weren't acting normally. Penny cleared her throat, beginning to realize that telling her friends to be "overly nice" to Leonard may not have been the best way of wording it. "Guys, why don't we eat?"

"Great idea. Leonard must be _so_ hungry after toiling at the university all day." Howard shook his head.

"Toiling on nothing but…" Sheldon caught himself. Penny sat down on the couch, and Leonard sat on the other side of her. "Excuse me," Sheldon said, "but that's my spot."

"You always sit in the green chair," Penny said. "Remember? You chose that as your place to sit."

"That's not my spot. _This_," he said, pointing to where Penny was. "Is my spot."

"Fine." Penny leaned over, bumping her shoulder into Leonard's. "Scoot down."

It was a bit crowded, three people on the couch, but with only four seats available around the coffee table, they had to make due. Howard took the green chair. That left Raj standing. He bent and whispered in Howard's ear. "No one cares where you're gonna sit," Howard told him. "You're not crazy!"

Raj rolled his eyes and sank down cross-legged on the floor in front of the coffee table, facing the others.

"So…" Penny said. "How was everyone's day?"

"Oh, it was great," Howard said. "Raj and I went to a Star Lab."

"A Star Lab?" Penny raised her eyebrows. "Like those big balloon things that kids crawl into at schools and they look at stars?"

"Those were horrible," Sheldon said. "They actually point out the constellations to you! They don't think that second graders already know all of that information."

"Yes, that kind of Star Lab," Howard said. "Raj was giving the presentation."

"Oh, well, good for you, Raj," Penny said, smiling with encouragement.

Raj whispered something to Howard again. "Right." He turned to Leonard. "But why are we talking about Raj? We are far more interested in _your _day."

Leonard frowned. "You want to know about my day?"

"Oh, yes! We are _very _interested in how you spent your time on this fine Tuesday."

"Huh." Leonard chewed slowly and swallowed. "You do."

Penny's face was bright red. This was the most horrible, awkward conversation the five of them had had in a long, long time. Leonard answered all of Sheldon, Howard, and Raj's questions, giving them odd glances occasionally. Once, after Sheldon gave him an extreme compliment on his latest experiment, Penny caught Leonard looking at her. She gave him a smile and then broke the eye contact to stab at more of her food.

"Well," Howard said an hour or so later, "I'd better get going. I have to take Raj home, and then I'm meeting Bernadette. We're going to see the creepy Alice in Wonderland movie."

"Oh. Okay," Penny said. "Bye guys. Glad you could come over."

"Thanks for having us" Howard said, and Penny sighed inwardly. _Way too formal, Howard_. "Well," the engineer continued. "You all have a pleasant evening. Especially you, Leonard."

"Go!" Penny said. When the other four gave her simultaneous surprised glances, she swallowed. "You don't want to…be late for the movie, Howard." _Nice save, Penny_, she thought.

When Howard and Raj left, Sheldon stood up. "Well, now that that little charade is over with, I need to…"

"Wait."

Sheldon was halfway out the door, and Penny was in the kitchen getting a water bottle, but both of them simultaneously turned to look at Leonard, standing by the couch. "What?" They asked in unison.

"What's going on?"

"I…don't know what you mean," Penny said casually.

"I don't know what you mean either," Sheldon said. "Nor do I know what Penny knows that she doesn't know what you mean."

Leonard crossed his arms. "You guys _never_ have gotten along this long before." He turned to Penny. "You never have me go to movies alone." He looked at Sheldon. "_You_ haven't twitched this much since you were keeping the community college secret from me." He looked at both of them. "And you said nothing when Raj and Howard-and you guys, for that matter-were acting ridiculously nice to me today. So…what is going on?"

Penny walked over to him. "Leonard, honey, they're your friends. Friends are nice to each other."

Sheldon gave a little snort. Penny's head shot around and glared. "Sorry." He came over to Leonard and tapped him on the shoulder. When Leonard looked at him, he gave his creepy not-kill-Batman smile.

Leonard looked at them for a moment longer, and then his face relaxed. Putting one hand on Penny's shoulder and the other on Sheldon's, he smiled. "You guys are the best."

**Hope that didn't massively disappoint anyone…review, please!**


End file.
